Owned by Florida West Coast Public Broadcasting, it is a sister station to primary PBS member WEDU (channel 3).

In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission opened an opportunity for broadcast stations to surrender their spectrum in a reverse auction to clear frequencies for wireless service.

It suggested that channel 22 be relocated from Lakeland for use in Tampa, where the University of South Florida (USF) already had money set aside to start an educational TV station.

An editorial in the St. Petersburg Times shared this frustration and called on the commission to reconsider,[3] and at least one applicant, Tampa Bay Television, expressed interest in activating channel 22 as a commercial station.

Channel 16 sought parity and the ability to simulcast PBS programs, and it indicated a desire to begin fundraising in the community, which irked WEDU officials fearing a dilution of viewer support and audience.

[19] The University of South Florida expanded its involvement in public TV broadcasting in 1983, when it completed construction of WSFP-TV (channel 30) in Fort Myers.

[24] The basement site became inadequate as the station grew, and the forthcoming conversion to digital television spurred the state government and USF to take action.

[26] Under Urofsky, the station launched its digital signal on July 1, 2004; its three new subchannels featured educational content from the Annenberg/CPB Channel, PBS You, and the Florida Knowledge Network.

Bright House Networks, the primary cable provider in the Tampa Bay area, exacerbated the strife by exercising a contract in its clause with PBS stations and demoting WUSF-TV, but not WEDU, to a tier where not all subscribers could see it.

[31] A statewide defunding of public media in 2011, a consequence of governor Rick Scott's decision to veto a funding package, left the station unable to produce local programming that was not paid for by a grant.

[33] Ralph Wilcox, the provost of the university, noted in emails to other trustees that he lacked faith in the future of a linear TV station given an explosion in digital media platforms.

[41] With the shutdown on October 15, WEDU picked up the PBS Kids and Create subchannels previously carried by WUSF-TV as well as programs formerly on channel 16's lineup.

[42] In 2020, the USF Board of Trustees approved the renovation of the studio facilities left by WUSF-TV on the campus into a center for talent development within the Muma College of Business, which opened in 2022.